All in the Family
by Ceddiepooh
Summary: Harry, Will and Germione enter their third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With appearences by Hermione GrangerWeasley, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy eventually..xD, and now Headmaster McGonagall. rated for light cursing
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: This story kinda started out from a HP storygame (and still..is kind've a game). All Harry Potter characters and enviornments and stuffbelong to J.K. Rowling, respectively. The children of main characters and suchare of my own creation and the Ali character is sort've based on myself. Caitlin belongs to herself as well. xD

Enjoy-eth!

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**September 1st, 8:30 a.m. **

The Burrow

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"Mum, I can't find my Gryfindor scarf!" _

"Peorge, what did I TELL you about touching my things?"

"Mummy, I want to ride the Hogwarts Express!"

"I STILL can't find my scarf!"

Hermione Granger-Weasley sat at the dinner table with her head in her hands, seemingly dead to the world as her 8 children bussled about the house in a hurried manner. It was a routine they've grown accustomed to since Germione and William Weasley started their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry two years ago.

It was virtually impossible for a Weasley to be on time: Living in closed quarters with 10 people, an orange cat with a squished face and 2 owls, the burrow certainly became quite crowded at times. But Hermione was not a Weasley--at least, she wasn't BORN a Weasley--so the standard didn't apply to her. In fact, This morning Hermione was showered, packed and ready to go just as the sun began to rise; she was pretty certain Ron was still curled up in bed at the moment..

"Mum, WHERE did you put my scarf?" Germione said over Hermione's shoulder, just as Donald sashayed past them with a bit of a 'thump' in his step, red and gold fabric wrapped around his neck. With the flick of a wand and the utter of a spell, the scarf un-wound itself from Donald Weasley's neck and landed neatly folded in Germione's waiting arms.

"I was GUNNA give it back, honestly.." Said Donald truthfully, lingering near Hermione's chair. "I was just giving a demonstration of how you act every time you see Harry Potter jr.."

Germione's face flushed red within seconds. "Nonsense! Harry is my FRIEND!"

"Oh, Oh HARRY, You're SOOOO Good at Quidditch! Oh HARRY, when was the last time you brushed your hair? It's so unruly, just like MINE!" Donald remarked in a shrill voice, prancing around the dinner table. Germione watched in horror.

"You better stop before-..I don't even SOUND like that, so-...MUM, MAKE HIM STOP!" Germione stomped in aggravation, turning to Hermione for assistance.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply before Ron came trudging down the stairs, his hair damp from showering.

"Oh thank MERLIN.." Hermione blurted, quickly rising to her feet. "I'm going to be late for work! Ron, make sure Germy and Will are packed, I already took care of breakfast, don't lose track of the kids, See you soon, love you!" She planted a quick kiss on Ron's lips as he began to yawn, then kissed the top of each child's head as they rushed past her, before rushing out of the house at breakneck speed.

Ron stood there for a moment, scratching at his chest, staring at the madness that was his house: Peorge was doing the running man on the coffee table in the living room, holding one of Will's books up over his head while Will looked on, angrily slapping his wand against his palm; Kermy sat quietly in a corner of the kitchen, rubbing something that Ron assumed to be paint on the walls while Hermy attempted to rub it off with her hands (ultimately smudging and making it worse); Germy and Donald were currently engrossed in a shouting match, while Jed and Wormy watched on.

Ron glanced at at the clock, which hung in the kitchen next to the special clock that displayed any individual in the family on their own 'hand' that pointed to a certain position on the clock, depending on the persons location or likewise (Hermione's hand pointed to Hogwarts; Peorge's was slowly inching its way to Mortal peril..). '8:50..And the train leaves at 9. ..Time to go..'

**  
8:57 a.m **

Kings Cross Station/Hogwarts Express

_"Don't forget to write, alright? And don't give your mum a reason to get in your hair, understand?" Ron peered down at Will and Germy, smiling broadly. "I'll see you soon.." _

The Hogwarts Express let out one final whistle, signaling that students should quickly board or be left behind. Germione lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Ron.

"G'bye Dad.." She mumbled into his shirt, before stepping aside to bid farewell to her siblings; Will shook hands with Ron, and after a few moments of swapping goodbyes, Germy and Will boarded the train with their things.

Germy stood at the window and began to wave goodbye as the train pulled away from the station. Donald began running alongside the train, waving franticly. "LOVE YOU, GERMY! SAY HI TO HARRY, YOUR LOVER, FOR ME!"

Germy flashed an obscene hand gesture at Donald when she was sure Ron wouldn't see it, then moved away from the window and wandered down the hall to find a seat. It wasn't long before she spotted Will slipping into one of the compartments and hurried after him, yanking the compartment door open. There, she found Will hurling his trunk onto the overhead compartment and Harry Sirius Ronald James Remus Potter sitting across a girl she didn't recognize..

"Harry!" Germione blurted, dragging her trunk into the compartment. "Long time no see! How was your summer?"

Harry rose, and Germione noticed he looked a lot taller since she last saw him. 'His hair grew a bit too..' She thought. Harry took it uppon himself to stow away Germione's trunk for her before plopping down onto his seat again, grinning up at her. "Don't know what you're goin' on about, Germy, 'cause we saw each other just last week, you know. We went shopping for supplies in Diagon alley.." He replied, before turning his attention to the girl he was talking to. "Anyway, I don't know if you've met, but this is **Caitlin **.. she's the daughter of Luna and Neville Longbottom.."

Caitlin nodded politely to Will and Germy. It was easy to say that she recieved all her looks from her mother, and possibly a bit of Neville's personality. She slid down the seat, her wavy blonde hair dancing over her shoulders as she moved, to make room for Germy, who reluctantly sat down.

"She's transfering from some place called Yale.." Harry mumured with the wave of his hand.

"You look like a bright girl.." Said Will with a bit of a blush. "Maybe you'll be sorted into Ravenclaw.."

"I hope not. Gryffindor's much better..and we've got plenty of room for new people.." Harry replied, leaning back in his seat.

Germy mumbled under her breath, "Slytherin probably wouldn't mind having you.."

Both Will and Harry gave Germy questioning looks (Although, Will's was bordering on threatening..).

"...I was kidding.." Said Germy with a forced laugh. '..Yeah, well..we'll see what happens..'

TO BE CONTINUED..


	2. Chapter 2

All HP characters and enviornments belong to JK Rowling, of course. **

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**Hogsmede Station, 6:30 p.m.**

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..As the train pulled up into Hogsmede Station, the students began to spill from their compartments into the crowded hall of the train. Harry, Germione, Caitlin and Will fetched their things from the overhead bin and dispersed into the hall. A little further up the line, a group of Slytherins were forcing their way to the front of the train in hopes to get off before everybody else. _

"What's going on up there?" A voice murmured from somewhere next to Harry's ear. He looked over and realized it was Caitlin who was speaking to him.  
"Aah, nothin' out of the ordinary.." replied Harry with a shrug, "Slytherins. A nasty crowd, they are. Don't want to get mixed up with that lot.."

After finally making it off of the train, the students began to seperate by years.

"Fir's years, this way!"

Harry knew that voice from anywhere; he set off down the track to find it's owner, though it hadn't been much of a challenge.

"Hagrid!" exclaimed Harry as he aproached the groundskeeper.

" 'arry Potter!" Hagrid bellowed, extending his hand out to Harry, who took it with the mere intention to shake but was quite surprised when he was suddenly pulled into Hagrid's large mass. "So good t' see ye', mate!" said Hagrid, squeezing Harry tightly.

"Good to see you too, Hagrid." mumbled Harry from somewhere deep within Hagrid's furs.  
Hagrid released Harry a short while after, allowing Harry to suck in a much needed breath.

"Ye' takin' Care of Magical Creatures this year, righ'?" Asked Hagrid, while looking around to make sure the first years didn't wander off.

"..Sure.." mumbled Harry half-heartedly; He recalled his father telling him about his 'expierence' with said-class and decided early on that he wasn't looking forward to such things this year.

After a moment longer of chatting with Hagrid, they each bid each other goodbye and Hagrid went off towards the lake, followed by a line of young first year students staring after him with wide-eyed expressions; some even pointed at Harry and whispered amongst themseleves as they passed.

'Bloody hell. Same thing every year..' thought Harry spitefully as he wandered over to Will and Caitlin, who were chatting animatedly about their fathers; he thought he also heard something about speghetti and golf carts somewhere in the conversation.

'Why can't people just mind their own businesses? How come no one ever bothers Will or Germione..?' Harry snorted at the thought, but then something dawned on him. He took a quick look around, then elbowed Will hard in the ribs.

" 'ey, Will..Where'd Germy get off to?" Said Harry, standing on his toes to get a better look over the rest of the students who were lingering around waiting for the carriages to arrive and transport them to the school grounds.

Will stayed silent for a few seconds, rubbing his ribs, contemplating Germy's whereabouts, before finally shrugging his shoulders. "Don't know. What diffrence does it make?"

"Look over there.." Caitlin murmured airily, pointing a finger in some direction. "What d'you think is going on over there?"

The boys slowly turned and followed Caitlin's finger; a small group of slytherins were circling a bushy redheaded girl, leering and chanting insults at her.

Harry immediately ran towards them, not giving much thought for anything else.

"You filthy little mudblood..I can't believe they still let YOUR kind into this school." One slytherin spat, his blonde hair threatening to fall from it's slicked-back position every time he tossed his head; the other Slytherins around him laughed and continued circling Germione.

"I'd watch your mouth if you know what's good for you, Malfoy.." The Slytherins whirled around to find Harry Potter jr. standing before them.

"Oh yeah? Well, what are you going to do about it, Potter?" Draconisis Malfoy said, emphasizing Harry's last name with more spitting. Harry looked past the group, at Germione, who's face was just as scarlet as her hair and her jaw was tightly set; Harry's heart lurched at the sight.

He then, in turn, looked each Slytherin in the eye; Standing to Draco's immediate left, clutching his arm, was a pug-faced surly girl Harry knew to be Daisy Parkinson. Standing behind them, Harry immediately recognized Vincent Crabbe jr and Gregory Goyle jr, who were quite large in stature for a pair of third years. And to Draco's right, stood a dark girl with high cheekbones and indigo eyes, whom Harry had seen around in previous years, but did not know..

"Well, Potter?" Inquired Draco, snapping Harry from his thoughts. "What ARE you going to do about it, I said!"

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do.." growled Harry, reaching deep into his robes for his wand.

"Easy, now. School hasn't even started and you two are already going at it? Save it for later on in the year, please.." said a handsome boy who stood tall over Harry's head.

"Pft. Who do you think you are, Diggory?" Asked Draco, but began to twitch when he saw the boy reach into his robes also.  
"Y-You know what? I don't have time for this." said Draco, taking a small step back. "C'mon guys, the carriages are arriving.." He took the opportunity to shove past Harry and the handsome boy as he wandered off towards the arriving carriages; The other Slytherins mimiced his action and followed after him.

Harry sighed, pulling his hand from his robes. "Thanks Fredric.." Harry mumbled to the handsome boy, offering his hand. The boy laughed and shook it.

"Not a problem.." Said Fredric, running a hand through his thick brown hair. "Damn Slytherins think they own the place. Luckily, I only have to witness this sort of behavior for 2 more years, you know?"

Harry nodded. He didn't 'know', but..nodding seemed like the most appropriate thing to do, so..he nodded.

"So, I'll see you around, then.." Fredric said with a smile before wandering off.

Harry turned to find Will and Caitlin standing near Germione.

"All right, Germy?" Asked Harry, resting a hand on his good friend's shoulder.

"All right.." Germione mumbled, staring off into the distance. Harry frowned. 'This doesn't look good..' He turned to look at Caitlin, who was also staring into the same distance. '..What the..?'

"What are you two looking at..?" asked Harry, turning to take a look for himself. His gaze was met with Fredric Diggory chatting it up near a few 6th year girls; turning to look back at Caitlin and Germione, he found the same dazed look planted on both of their faces (Though, on Caitlin, Harry found that hers just came..naturally). '..You've got to be kidding me..'

**The Great Hall, 7:18 p.m. **  
_  
The Great Hall, with its four long House tables and its staff table set at the top of the room, was decorated as usual with floating candles that made the plates below glitter and glow. The traditional sorting of the first years went on as par usual, and was followed by the traditional 'Welcome to Hogwarts' speech by the head of the house. Harry only half listened to this, for his growling stomach tuned out the rest; he stared into his empty golden goblet, becoming quite happy when the words "Tuck in!" spilled from McGonagall's lips and the plates miraculously filled with food. _

"About time.." Germy said through a mouthful of chicken. "I was afraid I wasn't even going to make it to the feast..". Bits of food flew from her mouth and landed across the table.

Will peered at his sister from over a book about Runes, making a face. "Please, please, PLEASE..Keep your mouth shut while you're eating. I like bathing in water, not in soggy bits of corn.."

"Sorry!" Blurted Germy, sending more food flying.

Will shook his head before turning his attention to Harry. "So..wheres Caitlin..?" He asked airily, causually turning the page of his book.

"She's, uh..In McGonagall's office. She's waiting to find out what house she'll be put into.." said Harry, helping himself to some treacle tart. "I really hope McGonagall puts her in Gryfindor.."

Germione made sort of an agitated sound, thrusting more food into her mouth.

"Take it easy!" hissed Will, lowering his book. "Seriously. You want mum comming down here and embarassing you infront of everyone like she did last year? You know she won't hesitate, you know. Look, she's watching you now.."

Germione looked up at the staff table and, sure enough, Hermione-Granger Weasley glared back at her. After a short pause, Germione lowered her fork.

"I think I just lost my appitite.." Germy mumbled, rising from her seat. "I'm going to go to bed. See you two later.." She quickly rushed out of the Great Hall, occasionally glancing back at the staff table as she did so.

15 minutes later, the food completely cleared from everyones plates and the Students began emptying into the entrance hall. A little ways ahead of Harry, Draco and his band of Slytherins were heading towards their dorms; They looked back at Harry and Will, before bursting out with laughter.

"Wonder what they're laughing about.." Will mumbled as he began to climb the grand staircase that lead to the Gryfindor Common room.

Harry shrugged; He wasn't really worried about what Draco had to say, or anyone else for that matter. He wasn't going to let last year repeat itself. He was going to buckle down, excell in his classes (especially potions) and perhaps maybe win the Quidditch cup this year for his team. ..And maybe, just maybe if he had the time, learn an effective spell that would shut Draco's ass up once and for all..

TO BE CONTINUED..


	3. Chapter 3

All Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling--if you didn't know that by now, then...ew.

Authors Note: The S-K-A-R thing is an inside joke.. xD From a story that I wrote a while back. I wouldn't mind posting it for you guys.. it's only like...70 words long anyway. :P

Oh yeah.. I tried making the spells as accurate as possible by looking up the actual spells.. but there are a few that I had to make up myself (I think they appear in later chapters) and it's obvious that I made them up. Just..letting you know.. **

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**Double Charms, 10:21 a.m.**

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"And that, Mr. Potter, is how you spell 'Scar'.." Hermione placed the chalk down on the chalk holder and turned away from the board. Harry ruffled his hair a bit, looking frusterated. 'I don't get it..' he thought, 'Dad always told me it was S-K-A-R..' _

"Now, who can tell me what spell you would use to make objects vanish..?" said Hermione Granger-Weasley, sweeping her eyes across each of her students.

Will's hand immediately shot up; Hermione smirked. "Very well. William..?"

"The spell is called 'Evanesco', which literally means "To vanish"." said Will as-a-matter-of-factly.

Hermione beamed. "Excellent! Take 5 points for Gryffindor.." she said, pacing along the row of tables occupied by the students. Someone in the back of the room let out a displeased snort and Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, turning towards the direction of where the sound came from.

"Something the matter, Mr. Malfoy..?" Hermione asked shortly, tilting her head to one side.

"This is ridiculous!" blurted Draco, rising from his seat. The other students turned in their chairs to look at him. "This is favoritism!" Draco slammed his fist onto his desk, causing the kids at his table to jump slightly. "Giving points for something so primary and simple? Wait til my father hears about this.."

Hermione stood silently for a moment, studying him with her eyes, before speaking. "..Very well, Draco. Have a seat.." Draco sat after a moments hesitation. "..Could you tell me, Draco, who created the Philosopher's stone?" Hermione inquired with a faint smile.

"Er..well.." mumbled Draco, glancing at Crabbe and Goyle,sitting on either side of him,for support. Behind Hermione, Will was bouncing in his seat, franticly waving his hand in the air.

"..I see.." Hermione mumured, whirling around to face the rest of the class.

"Can anyone tell me who created the Philosopher's stone?" said Hermione Granger as she weaved her way between tables, staring over the heads of her students.

A suspicious looking, greasy haired 3rd year raised his hand.

"Go ahead, Serevus. Who created the Philosopher's stone?"

"Yo' Momma!" Serevus answered confidently before his eyes widened with horror and he clamped his hands over his mouth.

"Excuse me?" Hermione stalked towards Serevus. "Would you like to repeat that, Mr. Snape?"

Two seats behind Serevus, Harry Sirius Ronald James Remus Potter twitched his wand at Serevus' back and murmured something under his breath..

"Yo' Momma!" Serevus croaked from behind his hands, shrinking down into his seat.

"..I see. You know, I don't know what's gotten into you.. but I think this deserves ANOTHER week of detention.." Hermione chided before whirling around to face the rest of the class. "7 inches of parchment on details of the Philosopher's stone and the TRUE creator due Friday!" The entire class groaned(Harry groaned the loudest, of course).

"Now.." Hermione walked to the front of the class. "Let us pratice the evanesco charm.."

Class was dismissed an hour later and the students exited the class and emptied out into the hall(Harry and Will lagged behind to wait for Germy, who recieved a good scolding from Hermione for falling asleep in class again..).

"I can't believe her!" said Germione, walking quickly down the hallway, tossing her head as she spoke. "I mean, you can't blame me for falling asleep. I go through this sort of thing every day!" Several students had to jump sideways out of Germione's path to avoid being ran over; Will and Harry were practicly jogging just to keep up with her.

"Oh come off of it, Germione. She's only trying to help.." offered Will. "You shouldn't be falling asleep durring classes. Right Harry?"

"Mmhm.." mumbled Harry a bit distractedly. The trio aproached the painting of the big fat lady, who was happily helping herself to a bottle of sherry wine.

"Passwo-ord.." The portrait hicced, tipping slightly in her seat.

"Bibity-Bobity-Boo" the three said in unison; the portrait swung open and they entered the Gryffindor common room. The room was almost empty, save a few 6th years who were clustered up in a corner over their books and a single 4th year girl sitting on the couch infront of the fireplace, her blonde hair illuminated by the flames.

"Hey you! On the couch!" Harry blurted aloud, receiving several awkward looks; the girl looked over and Harry saw Will straighten up out of the corner of his eye.

"So McGonagall actually had the sense to put you into Gryffindor, hm?" said Harry, ruffling his hair a bit as he aproached the couch. "Well, if you stick with us Caitlin, I promise to make your years at Hogwarts quite memorable."

Caitlin smiled, rising from her seat. "Sounds exciting."

Germione scoffed, heading straight for the portrait door. "Class. Don't want to be late.." She mumbled before stepping out.

"Yes, I should go too." said Caitlin quietly, gathering up her things. "I'll see you guys at dinner.." She walked to the portrait door, smiling at Will as she passed; Will returned the smile with a cheesy one of his own.

Harry plopped down onto the couch with Will following suit seconds after. They stared into the fireplace in silence, watching the flames flicker and dance within, before either of them decided to break the silence.

"She's cool.." said Harry.

"She's sweet.." murmured Will at almost the exact same time Harry spoke; they both snapped their heads around to look at each other, cracking their necks in the process. Harry cursed under his breath, rubbing at the nape of his neck.

"So, what, you like her or something?" asked Harry.

"What? No!" Will exclaimed, putting on an alarmed expression. One look at Harry's face and Will could tell he wasn't buying the act..

"Well, I mean...I.." Will shrugged. "I don't know.." He leaned back in his seat, staring back into the fireplace for a moment before a thought popped into his mind.

"Do YOU like her?" asked Will, with a bit of testy-ness to his voice.

Harry stared at the expression on Will's face. 'He looks..crazed..' he thought, fidgiting slightly. '..No worries, though..'

"No, not at all mate..!" said Harry with a bit of a laugh. "I mean, she's cool and all, but.." He shrugged, unsure of what else to say. '..To early to decide, anyway. ..Who knows what could happen..'

**December 14th **

Great Hall, 8:30 a.m.

_The Great hall was unusually quiet as students began filing in for breakfast, as it had been every morning since school had started. Harry sat at the Gryffindor table, flicking his wand threateningly at his goblet of pumpkin juice. Will and Germy wandered over the table (both looking quite exhausted), each taking a seat across from Harry. _

"Evanesco!" said Harry grandly, flicking his wand at the goblet numerous times. He glanced over to find Will chuckling behind his bowl of oatmeal. "..What's funny?" asked Harry, slamming his wand down onto the table.

"Nothing, nothing really.." mumbled Will, though his grin suggested otherwise. "It's just..you're going about it all wrong, mate. Here, I'll show you." Harry watched on as Will fished his wand out of his robes, then pointed it at his own goblet.

"Evanesco." Will said simply with a light flick of the wrist; the goblet faded away instantly.

"That was amazing!" a dazed voice said behind Harry. Will looked up and nearly choked on his tongue.

"Uh..Thank you. Thank you, Caitlin.." He said, looking down into his oatmeal.

"Mind if I sit?" asked Caitlin, peering down at Harry who slid down the bench to make room.

"So, what's going on? How do you like Hogwarts so far?" Harry inquired while helping himself to some bacon.

"Oh, it's brilliant!" exclaimed Caitlin, clapping her hands together. "I've met so many kind people here.."

Germy stared blankly at Caitlin, stuffing a piece of bacon into her mouth.

"The classes are so well taught, and the teachers are excellent.."

Germy stiffled a yawn behind the back of her hand.

"I'm looking forward to the rest of the year. Especially the ball.."

Germy's head snapped up immediately. "Ball?" she asked, "What ball?"

"You haven't heard?" asked Caitlin, tilting her head slightly. "The Yule ball. It's next week, Open to years 4 and above. Someone was just telling me about it the other night.."

Germy's face fell. "Oh.." she murmured in a deflated tone.

"Of course, if acompanied by someone in their 4th year or higher, 3rd years can also attend the ball.." said Caitlin.

Germy sat up straight in her seat. "Oh!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together like Caitlin had done just moments ago. Will also sat up straight.

"Do you, uh, have any ideas of who you'd like to go to the ball with?" He asked, wringing his hands in his lap.

Caitlin's smile slowly faded away. "Not at all. I mean, I don't really know any of the guys yet.."

"What about Fredric Diggory?" offered Harry, much to the horror of both Germione and Will.

"I..don't know. I've never talked to him before. It'd be too awkward.." said Caitlin, smiling a bit; Germione and Will relaxed at this.

"Well, if all else fails, you could always just take me..!" said Harry jokingly, nudging Caitlin with his elbow. Caitlin's smokey eyes grew wide.

"Really? Oh, Harry, that would be wicked!" exclaimed Caitlin, throwing her arms around Harry; Germione and Will's jaws hit the table.

"Wait a minute..!" argued Harry, but Caitlin quickly jumped to her feet and scampered off, looking quite excited. Harry cleared his throat and mentally counted to ten before looking up just in time to see Will rising from the table and walking briskly towards the entrence hall without saying a word.  
'..Dammit..'

"Hey, wait up mate!" Harry jumped to his feet and rushed after Will, leaving Germione alone at the table.

'I can't BELIEVE this!' She thought, clentching her fists under the table. 'The audacity..the nerve of that boy..'

A handsome boy donned in the Hufflepuff robes strode past the Gryffindor table, followed by a group of gaggling girls vying for his attention. Germione followed his movemnts with her eyes and a slow smirk crept across her face. 'Very well. I guess I'll just have to play along..'

TO BE CONTINUED..


	4. Chapter 4

All HP characters belong to Mrs. Rowling. ..Except for the ones that are obviously made up and Caitlin's character.xD **

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**December 15th**

**Ministry of Magic, Harry Potter's Office, 6:04 p.m.**

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It was very rare for a young employee of the ministry to be offered their own office space. Though, this was not the case for Harry Potter; durring his first year as an auror, he was given his own corner office with all of the furnishings. Ron Weasley, however, had not been so lucky (All he managed to get was a small cubicle). After returning from a short employement change, Ron managed to--with some minor help from Harry--get a small office just down the hall from his best mate's.. _

" 'ey Harry.." called Ron from Harry's leather couch, which sat directly under the large victorian window that took up almost an entire wall. "..What rhymes with 'Chicken'?"

Harry glanced at Ron before looking back at his stack of papers. "I thought you gave up the music business, Ron..?"

"Well, yeah, but..I was thinking.." began Ron. Harry scoffed at this.

"Maybe I could work as an auror part of the time, and then work on some records the other part? You see artists doing that sort of thing all of the time!" finished Ron, sitting up in his seat. "Well..what do you think?"

Harry slowly looked up, staring Ron directly in the eye. "..I think you're mad, mate."

Ron threw his hands up in exasperation. Harry laughed, pushing his chair back away from his desk. "Honestly? I don't know. I mean, even when you were just rapping, you spent enough time away from home as it was. ..Do you really want to do that to Hermione again..?"

Ron sat in silence, staring down at his hands, when a knock sounded on Harry's door.

"Alright..!" called Harry; the door swung open and a timid young lady poked her head inside, blinking rapidly.

"C-Call on l-line one for M-Mr. Ronald W-W-W-W-.." the girl stuttered.

"Weasley.." sighed Ron, rising to his feet. "Thank you, Amelia, I'll be right there."

The girl left the room and Ron moved towards the door, turning to face Harry when he reached it. "You're right. I don't want her to have to go through that again.." said Ron before adding, with a smile, "Thanks Harry", and exiting the office, closing the door behind himself.

Harry smiled to himself while he resumed working when the door opened again and Ronald Weasley re-entered.

"Okay, so here's another idea. What about if I only rapped durring the Summer, and then-"

"RON!"

"Okay, Harry, you're right! Sorry.. I'm going now." Ron mumbled, quickly leaving the room.

**Ministry of Magic, Auror's Offices Main Floor: Floo Network, 6:21 p.m. **

_'I thought I told Amelia no calls while I'm on my break..' thought Ron as he strolled past the rows of fireplaces, eventually stopping at the last one in the far end of the room labeled '1'. He knelt down to one knee and peered into the flames, greeted by Hermione-Granger's floating head. Ron put on his most what-he-thought-was-charming smile he could come up with. _

"Hermione!" exclaimed Ron, "How good to see you, love!"

Hermione glared back at him. "You are not going to believe this, Ronald!" she said, completely ignoring his comments, "Your daughter is starting to get fresh with me!"

"MY Daughter!" Ron exclaimed, his eyes narrowing to resemble Hermione's, "How come every time she does something wrong, she's MY daughter?"

"Nevermind that. I need you to come down to Hogwarts and speak some sense into her! She won't listen to a word I say!"

"Well, I don't want this to come as a shock Herms, but.. none of our children listen to a word you say." said Ron with a hint of enjoyment. Hermione's expression frosted over.

"Just. Get. Here. As. Soon. As. Possible." said Hermione, spitting venom with each word.

"Okay, but what in merlin's name do you expect me to say to her?" Ron hissed, lowering his voice slightly when someone else entered the room and sat infront of the fireplace right next to him.

"I don't know! You're good with words, you'll think of something!"

Ron sighed, nodding his head. "Fine. ...So, how's Will?"

Hermione's expression softened. "Oh, he's just..perfect. He's always been good.." said Hermione with a wide smile; Ron twitched at the sudden mood change.

"Yeah, he got that from me.." Said Ron.

"..Right. So, I'll see you soon. I love you, Ron.." said Hermione, still smiling.

Ron cleared his throat; he was very well aware that he wasn't the only person in the room. "..Yeah. Right back at you."

"..WELL, AREN'T YOU GOING TO SAY IT BACK!" blurted Hermione, the anger in her voice quite aparent.

"WHY DO I HAVE TO SAY IT FOR, IF YOU ALREADY KNOW I LOVE YOU!" retorted Ron before he could catch himself.

Hermione smirked and said soothingly, "There, that wasn't so hard. G'night, Ron.." , before vanishing within the flames.

Ron grunted, slowly standing up. 'Dammit, she did it again..' He thought, turning away from the fireplace; the person next to him didn't bother to hide the fact that they were staring.

"..My wife.." said Ron with a chuckle before leaving the room, with the person giving him a sympathetic look as he left.

**December 16th **

Hogwarts, Entrence Hall , 12:00 p.m.

_'Dammit! The Yule Ball is less than a week away, and I still don't have someone to take me..' thought Germione Weasley with a twinge of annoyance. 'If I can't go, then how am I supposed to make sure little Ms. Longbottom doesn't keep her grubby little hands off of..' _

"Earth to Germione! Earth to Germione, come in Germione..!" said Harry jr., waving a hand infront of Germy's face. "What is with you? You've been so distant these past couple of days.."

Will snorted from Germione's left, glaring at Harry. "Yeah. I wonder why."

"Oh, c'mon, I didn't even.." Harry began, but Will broke away from the group and walked off in the oposite direction they were heading. "..mean to ask her." finished Harry weakly, watching Will's retreating back. "I mean, he likes her and I'd never-"

"WHAT!" Germione blurted, inturrupting Harry. "HE LIKES HER AND YOU ASKED HER OUT ANYWAY?"

Harry sighed. "I told you-.."

"AND YOU KNEW IT, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN ATTEMPT TO SET THEM UP OR ANYTHING?"

"Well, I thought it'd be kinda rude. Saying I'd go with her, and then like.. backing out at the last minute so she could go with Will? I mean, what if she likes ME?" said Harry with a smirk, running a hand through his unruly hair with much difficulty.

"HARRY POTTER, YOU ARE SO CONCEITED!" students in the hall began turning towards Germione and Harry, curious as to what was going on. Harry stepped back away from Germy, frowning.

"I was just kidding. Germione, seriously, what's gotten into you?" said Harry, looking quite concerned for his friend. Germione pulled her wand on him, pointing it directly at his face.

"SILENCIO!" she shrieked, sending Harry flying a good 15 feet across the hall. Harry sat up slowly after landing hard on the floor, wincing from the throbbing pain in his head. He opened his mouth, but was surprised when no sound came out. Germione stomped past him without as much as a glance towards him, flipping her poofy hair as she rounded a corner, leaving Harry to groan and moan in silence.

'I can't believe him! So full of himself that he can't even see what's infront of him..' throught Germione, wiping away tears that managed to escape her eyes. As she aproached the grand staircase, something down the hall made her stop in her tracks. Fredric Diggory was strolling up the hall towards her, in all his handsomeness; but he wasn't alone. A forth year Slytherin girl(whom Germione recognized to be Alissandra Zabini) strode next to Fredric, both aparently engaged in conversation with one another.

Then Germione realized she was standing in the middle of the hallway, right in their path. 'Bloody hell, they're gunna see me!' She thought, looking around for a place to hide. She quickly slipped behind a tapestry of two witches fighting over a dead wizard, just as Fredric and Ali aproached where she once stood.

"..and it was very sweet of you, I must say.." said Ali in a soft voice, softer than Germione pictured a slytherin's voice to be anyway.

"Wasn't a problem at all." said Fredric. Germione swooned from behind the tapistry. 'Ugh, his voice is so..beautiful..'

"Did that..did that wall rug just move?" Ali asked. Germione froze.

"Uh, no, I think you're just being paranoid.." said Fredric with a laugh. "So, you said you wanted to ask me something..?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. But.. not here. Somewhere in private, perhaps?" said Ali. Germione realized they were moving away from her now, as their voices were fading. 'No! I have to hear what she's going to ask him!' She thought, twitching with excitement. If her instincts were correct, Germione knew Alissandra was going to make an attempt to coax Fredric into going to the ball with her and she just couldn't let that happen.

Germione slowly poked her head out from behind the tapistry and saw Fredric and Ali standing a little ways ahead of her. She hesitated before quickly lunging out from behinid the wall rug and preforming a mission-impossible like dodgeroll maneuver, landing behind a statue of a stout little witch with a big rear end.

"..ever goes into the prefects bathroom, so we'll have all the privacy you need." Fredric said, steering Alissandra up the grand staircase. Germione smirked to herself. '..Perfect.'

**Prefects Bathroom, 12:23 p.m.**

"I think I want to be a prefect, just so I could use this bathroom.." Ali murmured, stopping to look at herself in the mirror.

"Yeah, it's certainly something.." said Fredric, standing near the olympic pool-sized bathtub. "So, what's going on..?"

Ali whirled to face him, her long hair flipping behind her head. "Well, I was wondering..or rather..expecting you to-.."

"OH! Oh my gosh, sorry for inturrupting.."

Ali and Fredric turned towards the door to see Germione enter, looking utterly lost.

"This is not the potions classroom. My mistake.." Germy said airly, glancing around the vast bathroom. 'Wow, this is..nice..'

"3 years and you still don't know where Potions is, Weasley?" said Ali, clearly annoyed with the inturruption. "It's in the-.."

"Dungeons. I know. I must've taken a wrong turn!" said Germione with a laugh that echoed against the white-tiled walls of the bathroom. "So, what are YOU doing here? You're not a prefect.."

"Nice of you to have noticed." Ali spat. "Now if you don't mind, I'm in the middle of a conversation.."

"Oh, I don't mind. Please, go ahead!" Germione replied with a smirk. The girls glared bullets at one another.

Fredric cleared his throat loudly. "I have..Quidditch Practice in an hour, so I should.."

"NO, DON'T GO!" Germione blurted, lunging for Fredric. Ali lunged for him at the same time and Fredric quickly sidestepped out of their way, leaving the giant tub in their path; they both fell into the empty bathtub with a 'thump'.

Fredric dropped to his knees next to the tub and peered down at them. "You girls alright? That sounded like a nasty fall.."

Germione stood up slowly, grabbing the edge of the tub. "Yeah..I'm fine.." she grunted. 'I can't feel my legs!'

Ali reached up and pulled Germione back down before hoisting herself up and out of the tub. She limped towards the closest mirror and shrieked at the sight before her. "LOOK!" she whirled to face Fredric, pointing to the dark bruise forming on her forehead. "LOOK AT MY FACE! I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO SHOW MY FACE AGAIN!"

"It's really not that bad, Ali. It'll fade away within a couple of weeks.." Fredric offered, looking slightly concerned.

"A couple of-..A COUPLE OF WEEKS! BUT THE BALL IS IN 5 DAYS!"

"Here, maybe I can help.." Fredric reached into his robes for his wand, but Ali shook her head franticly. "No, you've done enough.." she spat, before whirling around and stomping out of the bathroom.

Germione snickered to herself from the bottom of the bathtub. She didn't think it would be so easy..

**Library, 3:51 p.m. **

_  
Will Weasley dropped a stack of books ontop of the librarian's(OC: Can't remember her name, if she had one.. xD) desk with a huff. _

She looked down at the stack, before looking up at Will with an annoyed look on her face. "Weren't you here yesterday? You're checking out more books again?"

"No, these are returns.." replied Will a bit distractedly, moving away from the desk. 'I don't see why it bugs me so much. My best friend is taking the girl I like to the ball. So what? Not a big deal..' he thought, moving towards the small study tables; it took a short moment for him to realize that all the tables were packed except for one, which was only occupied by one student. He walked over to the table and cleared his throat to get the persons attention.

"Is this seat taken?" asked Will politely, peering down at the student who was currently engrossed in a book entitled "How to get rid of bruises and other nasty marks" _. The student lowered the book and glared at Will with frosty indigo eyes. 'Damn. This day just seems to be getting better and better..' thought Will sarcasticly. _

"Are you here to finish what your sister started?" Ali spat, glaring up at Will.

"Uh, no. I..honestly don't know what you're talking about. ..What happened to your face?" asked Will before he could stop himself.

Ali glared at him for a good moment before dropping her face into her hands. "It's ugly, isn't it?"

"Er, yea-..I mean, No! No, not at all.." Will corrected. He felt slightly uncomfortable standing so close to a Slytherin, let alone talking to one.

"You're lying.." said Ali, slowly raising her head. "I've been trying to get rid of it, but I can't find anything that works. I think I've just made it worse.."

Will stared at the bruise, which was currently glowing like flurecent lights on a billboard. "Well, have you tried the vanishing charm?"

Ali stared at him blankly.

'..Aparently not..' Will thought as he pulled his wand from his robes. Ali rose from her seat.

"Don't you DARE use that on me you filthy little.."

"EVANESCO!"

Ali blinked, before reaching into her robes and pulling out a handheld mirror. She patted her forehead, examined her hair and checked her teeth before realizing the bruise had completely vanished. "Merlin, it's gone!" She lunged at Will, pulling him into a tight hug, then let go before Will knew what was going on. Ali cast a quick glance around the area; everyone else was so lost in their studying, they never noticed Ali and Will's little embrace.

"Not-t a problem.." Will sputtered, but was then greeted with another surprise; Ali jabbed his throat with her wand, her eyes narrowed into slits.

"You tell anyone about this and I'll kill you. Understand?" she murmured loud enough for only Will to hear.

Will's eyes widened. "Y-Yeah.."

"..And you tell anyone about my little threat of killing you, and I'll kill you anyway. Get it?"

"Got it.." Will replied, twitching. Ali lowered her wand.

"Wonderful. ..So, I guess I owe you something then." said Ali, stowing her wand away inside of her robes.

"Owe me..?" Will said, stepping away from Ali a couple of inches.

"Yes. I have this..moral obligation to aid anyone who aids me, even if they're filthy bloodtraitors.." said Ali, "Like yourself." She added, with a smile.

Will nodded. "Right.." he murmured. 'So, she owes me. What's the sort of thing you ask of someone you don't really care for? ...Unless..'

"Can it be anything?" asked Will.

"..I suppose. There are some limits, so don't be getting ideas." Ali retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, of course.." coughed Will, turning away from her. 'This is perfect. The only way I'll be able to go to the ball is if someone in their fourth year or above acompanies me. If I go with her, then I can keep an eye on Harry and Caitlin.' he thought, smirking to himself. 'This is just..perfect. I'm so smart..'

"Uh, today would be nice, Weasley.." Ali said, snapping Will from his thoughts.

"I want you to take me to the Yule Ball." Will said simply.

"WHAT!"

Everyone in the room looked up from their work; the librarian 'shushed' from her seat.

Ali lowered her voice to a low, hissing whisper. "You must be out of your damn mind.."

"I know, but you said anything.."

Ali cursed under her breath.

"And before you jump to conclusions.." Will continued, "This isn't about you. I just need you to walk into the Great Hall with me, and then we can just go our seperate ways. What do you say?"

Ali stood in silence, contemplating the idea. Will crossed his fingers behind his back.

"..Fine." said Ali after a moments silence; Will beamed.

"But, in order for me to do THAT, you'll have to do something for me first.."

"WHAT!" Will blurted.

Everyone, again, looked up from their work; The librarian rose from her seat and 'shushed' louder.

"You heard me. Just a small favor, really." Ali said airily.

"But you said-.."

"I know what I said, Weasley, and now I'm saying something else!" snapped Ali, her eyes turning into slits once more. "All you have to do is make sure your sister stays away from Fredric Diggory."

Will quirked an eyebrow. "Diggory? ..My sister? What do they have to do with anything?"

"Your sister is the reason I got the damn bruise in the first place. I know she's trying to get Fredric to take her to the Yule ball, which is why she walked in on me and Fredric in the prefects bathroom and inturrupted us!"

Will made a face; he really didn't need to know about THAT..

"So, what do you say Weasley? Is it a deal? You and I..go to the ball together.." Ali muttered, "If you manage to keep Germione and Fredric apart. And if you tell her about this..I'll know.."

'Go against my sister?' thought Will, 'I could never do that. But..If I don't, then I won't be able to go to the Yule Ball. ...This is crazy, I can't believe I have to think about this! Just, do the right thing..'

Will sighed. "Deal." 'The right thing would be to get my woman back!' "So, how do you suppose I carry through with this plan..?"

"I don't care how you do it, or where you do it. Just DO IT. And don't worry about coming to me and giving me the great news when you do.. I'll find out myself.." replied Ali as she gathered her things from the table.

Will nodded.

"I'll be seeing you, Weasley." murmured Ali before striding out of the library.

**Gryffindor Common Room, 7:06 p.m. **

_  
"And then she hexed me with a silencing charm. It was strange.." Harry murmured from the couch, peering into the flames in the fireplace. _

"Maybe you just caught her on a bad day.." Caitlin said from the nearest chair, giving him a sympathetic look. "Give her some time. Next time you see her, she'll be rejuvinated and alot more calmer. She'll apologize and then everything will go back to normal.."

It was at this time that Germione Weasley came down the stairs leading to the dorms and stalked across the common room without so much a word to Harry or Caitlin.

"..Not counting that." Caitlin quickly added, watching Germione head to the portrait hole. The portrait swung open before Germy could reach it and Will entered, looking alot more relaxed.

"Oy, Harry! How you doin', mate?" called Will from across the room. Harry stared.

"Now this is strange. ..You don't think they switched bodies or something, do you?" asked Harry to Caitlin, looking quite preturbed about the whole idea.

"What are YOU so happy about?" Germy inquired, eying Will suspiciously.

"Well, although it's none of your business.. I now have a date to the Yule Ball."

_Germione's jaw dropped; She was looking surprised, annoyed and jealous all at the same time. 'HOW COULD HE HAVE GOTTEN A DATE BEFORE ME! HE'S SUCH A NERD!' She thought angrily. Harry, on the other hand, looked interested (and relieved). "Really? Well, uh, who's the lucky lady?" He asked, before adding after a short pause, "..It..is a girl, right?" _

Caitlin laughed, rising to her feet. "Just let him tell us, Harry!"

"Alissandra Zabini!" exclaimed Will.

Harry and Germione stared blankly at him.

"Uh, what..?" asked Germione, slowly moving towards Will. "Ali Zabini?"

"Yep!" Will said cheerily. He glanced at Harry, who looked like he was going to pull his hair out at any given moment.

"YOU'RE GOING WITH A SLYTHERIN!" Harry yelled, standing on the couch to make himself seem taller. "YOU CAN'T! SHE'S THE ENEMY!"

"YEAH! SHE TRIED TAKING FREDRIC FROM ME!" Germione shrieked over Harry.

"Oh, come off of it! Fredric doesn't even LIKE you!" Will snapped, glaring at Germione.

Germione's face fell. "H-He said that..?"

"OH, WHO CARES!" yelled Harry, climbing over the couch and walking over to them. "You're a Gryffindor, Will! You can't go with a Slytherin, you TRAITOR!"

"Oh, You're one to talk about traitors, Potter!" Will snapped.

"YEAH!" Germione shrieked.

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Will rounded on Germione, glaring down at her.

"DON'T TELL ME TO SHUT UP!"

"DON'T TELL ME NOT TO TELL YOU TO SHUT UP!"

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!" yelled Harry over the Weasley's arguing.

"Ugh, I've had it. With BOTH of you. I'm leaving!" Germione whirled around and moved towards the portrait hole; Will moved towards the portrait hole at the same time.

"Uh, where do you think you're going?" He said, glaring down at his sister.

"I'm going where I WANT to go! Out of the way!" Germione snapped, hurling herself out of the common room; she slammed the portrait closed behind herself.

"FINE! Then I'm going to my ROOM!" Will yelled at the door before whirling around and running up the stairs leading to the dorms.

"FINE!" Harry yelled at no one in particular, "I'M GOING TO..I'm going..to...I'M STAYING HERE!" He shrieked, before plopping down onto the couch and crossing his arms. 'I don't even know why I was friends with those stupid Weasley's to begin with..'

TO BE CONTINUED..


	5. Chapter 5

**All Original HP characters are property of JK. Rowling. **

**Note: The Professor is based on an older..friend. He's not THAT old..I just exaggerate the oldness in the story. :P**

**Oh, and the SKAR thing is based partially on an inside joke. I think I have something about it in my other stories posted on this site. ..Okay, enough talking from me. :P**

* * *

Dearest Harry,

I didn't receive your letter yesterday; under your oath of promising to write me once a day, you'd better PRAY that the owl delivering it got lost on the way over..

Have you been practicing your 'Diffindo' charms? Hermione told me you tried splicing eggs apart and, as a result, had to stay after class to clean the yolks from the ceiling; please practice more, love.

I look forward to hearing from you soon--and by soon I mean right away, young man. Greetings from your Father and baby sister, who miss you dearly. Say hello to Germione and William for me.

Hugs and Kisses,  
Mum

P.S. Can't wait to see you on the 24th--I'll be picking you up from the station personally(Germy and Will are welcome to join us. I'll talk to Hermione..)

* * *

**December 21st **

Owlery, 10:21 a.m.

_Harry jr. watched the retreating back of a tiny barn owl being weighed down by a large roll of parchment tied to its leg take off into the sun, only turning away from the Owlery window once the owl was out of sight. 'That should hold mum for a few days..' He thought to himself. He certainly didn't have the time to write letters anyway--he had alot on his mind: Quidditch, Homework, Quidditch, Girls, Quidditch.. _

Harry left the owlery and walked down the hall, letting his mind wander while his feet carried him in no definate direction. 'I wonder..what Will and Germy are doing.' He snorted. '..Rubbish. Why should I care about them? Will practicly betrayed me and Germione? Well...I haven't quite figured that out yet..' Suddenly finding himself standing in the Entrence Hall, it was no surprise to Harry that the subject of his very thoughts was walking right at him--or rather--trying to catch up with another student. A slytherin..

'Zabini..' Harry barely stepped out of Ali's away as she rushed past, with Will following after her. 'You'd think she was trying to get away from him with the way she was practicly jogging..' thought Harry with twisted joy.

Then it dawned on him--A Slytherin and a Gryffindor on friendly terms? Impossible! Harry felt it went deeper than that.. 'She must be using him.' The thought made Harry's blood boil. Of course, using people was only typical for a Slytherin, but Ali Zabini was no ordinary Slytherin. She was a member of the Sly Knockturn Alley Ruffians , a gang notorious for playing dirty. 'Poor bloke didn't even see it comming..' Armed with this bit of information, Harry knew what he had to do..

**Defense Against the Dark Arts, 12:00 p.m **

_Harry felt completely drained by the time DADA rolled around. Though this was his last class of the day (All classes end early in celebration of the Yule Ball), he felt like it was far from over. He looked back at Germione sitting alone in a secluded corner, sleeping of course. If they were still talking, Harry knew, they'd be taking cracks at their eccentric grampa of a professor, who spent most of the class talking about what once was and what once used to be.. _

Harry then snuck a glance at William Weasley, who took special care of seating himself at the furthest desk possible from Harry's. Harry could only see the side of Will's head, as he was sitting face forward and seemingly paying attention to the Professor's lesson, and desperately wanted to get the attention of his friend. He quickly retrieved a scrap of parchment from his backpack and a feather quill. 'He has to know.' thought Harry, dipping the feather tip into his ink well. 'I have to tell him.'

Will, too, was exhausted and was struggling to keep his mind on the lesson. He watched his DADA professor, a wisened old wizard with a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue, pace slowly infront of the class as he lectured, pushing his steel walker infront of him. Will felt, every time the Professor made his way past, his eyelids droop lower over his pupils. 'C'mon, stay awake!' thought Will, sitting up straighter in his seat. 'Only 45 minutes left and we're through..'

Will watched the professor turn his back to retrieve something from his desk. At that precise moment, a small white object fluttered through the air and landed neatly ontop of Will's closed ink well. Upon closer look, Will realized it was a charmed oragami owl; the owl tucked its wings in and peered up at Will with its paper eyes, then tilted its head at an awkward angle. Will picked it up and unfolded it, glancing around the classroom as he did so. When he was finished, he found a note inside.

Will,  
I'm tired of fighten. This whole sitchation is leaven a bloody skar on our friendship. Meet me after class coz I gotta talk to you.

-Harry

_Right below the note was a small doodle of stickfigures: a tall, lanky looking one Will assumed to be him, a shorter figure with unruly squiggles for hair and glasses, and the last figure with a giant cloud of hair so big it covered its face. Will snickered at what was supposed to be his sister, not noticing that the DADA professor stopped what he was doing and was slowly making his way towards Will. _

"YOU!" Will's head jerked up immediately; the old man stood over him, peering down at him with cold eyes. "Whats that in your hand?"

"Er..Nothing, Professor Doboi." said Will, hastily trying to stuff the parchment into his robes.

The note slipped from his hand and flew directly into Doboi's hand without a spell being uttered. Will watched on as Doboi skimmed through the note with his eyes, then crumpled it up in his wrinkled hand.

"Touching.." the old man spat, before turning to look at Harry from across the room. "And your spelling is atrocious, Potter! Back in my day, young folk knew a thing or two about spelling. We even had classes for it! It was manditory! And quite important if you ask me.."

Will and Harry glanced at each other, aparently thinking the same thing: 'No one asked..'

"Say you're in Potions.." Doboi continued, looking at the class as a whole, "..Creating an antidote for venom from a Fredavrix sting. One wrong misreading of a spell and you could end up with something completely different.."

The entire class was silent. Doboi moved away from Will, mumbling something about ignorant children. 'I got off easy that time..' thought Will, looking quite relieved; he looked back at Harry, who was flashing him a grin and a thumbs up.

"POTTER!" The old man snapped, causing Harry to jump in his seat. "How nice of you to volunteer for my demonstration this afternoon. Get up here, now.."

Harry hesitated, before standing up and walking to the front of the class; Draconisis and a few of his goons snickered from somewhere in the back.

"To demonstrate our topic for this afternoon, class, I'm going to set fire to Young Mr. Potter here.." said Doboi as he reached into his way-too-big-for-him robes to retreive his wand.

"WHAT!" Harry yelped, garnering a few laughs from the class.

"Just what I'd call a joke, foolish child."

Harry relaxed at this.

"The truth is.. I want you to set fire to me, Potter. Just like you were taught earlier this week." said the old professor, setting his walker aside.

Harry stared at Doboi like he was crazier than he already was. "You forget to take your meds, old man?" asked Harry, though he found himself nose to nose with his professor before the question could completely escape his lips.

"Just DO IT! Or might I have to give you a detention? Will that persuade you? Or maybe take off points from Griffyndor? How does 50 TRILLION sound to you?" hissed Doboi.

"But, sir, we don't even HAVE 50 Trillion points.." squeeked Harry.

"No surprise to me. Young people these days.. talking back to their teachers! Why, back in my day.." Harry stood face to face with Doboi for an extra 15 minutes while the professor reminesced on the way things were, before Doboi finally backed away.

"Come now. Cast a fire jinx on me, Potter, or else. I won't hesitate to reprimand you." murmured the old man, standing with his wand loosly hanging from his right hand.

Harry pulled his wand out and pointed it at Doboi, but did not progress from there.

"Did you FORGET already how to do the spell? You worthless little.."

"FLAGRANTIA!"

A circle of fire surrounded Doboi from the floor, shooting up towards the ceiling to create a wall; Harry watched in horror as the flames engulfed his professor, seeing only his distorted figure through the orangy-red flames. The entire class watched, and listened, to the old man writhe and scream in pain.

"PROFESSOR, NO!" screamed Harry, stepping towards the flames.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! " a croak of laughter filled the room; Harry stepped back and watched in wide-eyed amazement as the old man shuffled from the flame, seemingly uninjured. The professor continued to laugh (louder, seeing the expression on Harry's face), coughing and wheezing as well. The entire class applauded.

"B-b-but you were just.. and I just.." Harry studdered, staring at the wall of flames dancing behind Doboi, which gave him an eerie glow.

"Silence, Potter, your only embarassing yourself.." said Doboi before mumuring 'Finite Incantatem', causing the flames to vanish completely.

Harry stood quietly and waited for an explaination.

"FLAME FREEZING JINX!" the professor snapped, looking quite perturbed. "We went over this many times in the last week! Used mostly by witches in the Medieval century who were burned at the stake to remove the effects of the fire! I knew you didn't pay attention, so that's why I pulled you up here! Now go sit down before you make a complete fool of yourself!"

Harry quickly rushed to his seat, quite embarassed. 'Old man likes to play tricks then..' he thought bitterly, sinking low in his seat. 'Well so do I.' Harry looked over at Will, who was grinning at him and flashing him a thumbs up, and grinned right back at him.

"Some of you will be going home for the holidays, so don't forget to practice everything we've done these past couple of weeks. Especially you, Potter. Now get out of here!" bellowed Doboi, dismissing the class. Germione Weasley lifted her head from the desk just as Harry and Will left the room together, talking animatedly.

Germione stretched and yawned, speaking to no one in particular. "What did I miss?"

**Gryffindor Common room, 6:34 p.m. **

_Germione stared up at the ceiling from her lounging position on the couch, dressed in her casual clothes. 'There's always next year..' _

"Germy, what are you doing?" Harry stood over Germione, peering down at her. "Why aren't you dressed? Aren't you going?"

Germione let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Nope. I don't even want to go. Not even worth my time.."

Harry gave her a quizical look.

"WHAT?" Germione snapped, pulling herself up into a sitting positon. "It's just some silly ball. No use getting worked up over it.." She paused, glancing down at her hands. "..And no one asked to take me, so.."

Harry sat down next to her, but said nothing. Germione looked up.

"Aren't you going to say something comforting?" she asked, though it seemed like more of a demand to Harry.

"..Am I supposed to?" asked Harry, yelping when Germione replied by slapping him on the arm. Germione frowned, glancing down at Harry's clothes; he wasn't dressed for the ball either.

"You're not going?" aske-..demanded Germione.

"Nope.." replied Harry.

"But..WHAT ABOUT CAITLIN!"

Harry blinked. "It's all taken care of. See-.."

"YOU'RE JUST GOING TO STAND HER UP LIKE THAT?"

"No! I just think.."

"I THOUGHT WE WENT OVER THIS! DO I NEED TO HEX YOU AGAIN!"

"GERMIONE!" Harry snapped, cutting Germy off in mid-rant. "It's all taken care of. ..Dances and..formal..things isn't..really my thing"

"Neither are words." retorted Germy, clearly annoyed with being inturrupted. Someone coughed behind them and they both turned around. Will stood there with his hair combed back, wearing black dress robes, and looking quite uncomfortable with being so..primped up.

"I'm..going now. Just wanted to say good night. ..And thanks." He grinned at Harry, who nodded back.

"Have a good time with Cait, mate..and.. I didn't mean for that to rhyme." said Harry as he stood up and began shoving Will out of the portrait hole. "G'night!"

Germione's face went blank. "He's going to the ball? ..Will? WILL is going to the ball? And I'm not?"

"Yes. ..To all inquiries." said Harry jokingly, dropping onto the couch again. Germione immedately latched onto his arm.

"Let's go to the ball, Harry!"

Harry chortled. "Right. But one problem, Germy..neither of us are in our fourth year, so we won't be able to get in.."

The excitement in Germione's face deflated for about 3 and a half seconds before it sprung up again suddenly. "Fine, no problem! I..think I have an idea!"

...TO BE CONTINUED..


	6. Chapter 6

All Original HP characters are property of JK Rowling. ...I want Cedric, though.**

* * *

**

**Hall, 7:00 P.M. **

Will Weasley wiped the sweat from his brow as he paced briskly in circles infront of the Great Hall, mumbling a mantra under his breath.

"Hello Caitlin. You look really nice tonight.."

He began to wring his hands nervously, occasionally glancing up at the staircase nearest the Great Hall: People began to decend down the stairs in pairs and small groups, passing by Will without so much as a glance. Out of the corner of his eye, Will spotted Alissandra Zabini enter the hall with a 5th year Slytherin who he didn't recognize at all.

'Figures..' he thought as he spun on his heels to continue pacing in the other direction, nearly walking right into Fredrick Diggory.

"Sorry mate.." offered Will sincerely, "I wasn't paying attention."

Fredrick smiled, shrugging lightly. "No worries," he said, slipping his hands into the pockets of his dress robes, "You waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, she should be down.. I hope." said Will, casting a wary look at the stairs.

"Alright. I'll see you in there" Fredrick clapped Will lightly on the shoulder before strolling into the Great Hall alone, where he was approached by 4 girls almost immediately after stepping through the doors. Will frowned.

_'Maybe she's not coming after all.' thought Will sullenly, whirling around to resume pacing; movement from the top of the staircase caught his eye. _

_"William!" a voice called down to him._

_Will froze. A lump began to grow inside of his throat, allowing little if no air to pass through. _

_"Will, I'm sorry I'm late. I ran into Harry and Germione outside of the portrait and they started asking me a load of questions.." _

_Will merely coughed in reply, watching Caitlin with widened brown eyes. She stopped infront of him, her royal blue robes settling around her feet; Her blonde hair hung in loose curls, resting lightly on her shoulders. _

_Will cleared the lump from his throat and offered a small smile. "You look..uh.."_

_"Here!" inturrupted Caitlin, thrusting a something into Will's hands. _

_Will stared down at the bundle in his hand; Something small, wrapped in a cotton sheet with a blue bow tied at what Will assumed to be the base._

_"I thought we agreed to no gifts.." murmured Will as he loosened the bow; the sheet jolted slightly. _

_"I know, but it's not from me.." said Caitlin wistfully, watching him remove the sheet. _

_Will peered down at what was in his hands. "A..a potted plant?" _

_Caitlin giggled, shaking her head. "Not just any potted plant. I believe they call it an 'Alldamen'?"_

_"Alldamen.." Will repeated, staring down at the plant. It was a whimpy-looking stump in the ground with many tenticles hanging from it, dangling over the pot. One tenticle, Will saw, seemed to be slowly wraping around his index finger._

_"Yes. My father said it was short for 'Alldamenwilbelongtuhali'." said Caitlin ruefully, reaching down to pet one of the tenticles. _

_Will looked up immediately at this. "Your father? ..Is..this from him?"_

_"Well, yeah. Once he found out who your father was, he was all..excited or something.." _

_Will nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. "Well, I guess I should thank him then.. it was a very nice gesture.." He bent down to place the plant on the floor, but found it difficult to let go; 4 tenticles found it's way up the sleeves of Will's dressrobes. _

_"What..What is this? What is it doing?" he demanded, reaching over with his free hand to pull himself free. Another group of tenticles shot from the plant, wraping tightly around his wrist. _

_"I-I don't know!" Caitlin sputtered, reaching into her dressrobes. "I don't have my wand! What do I do!"_

_"IMPEDIMENTA!" a voice shrieked from the doors of the Great Hall._

_The plant's tenticles siezed movement immediately, as if frozen. Will looked up to find Hermione stomping towards him._

_'Aah..here we go..' Will thought._

_"What's going on? What are you two still doing out here? Hm? HM?" demanded Hermione as she wriggled Will loose from the plant._

_"Er..Caitlin was just giving me a gift.." Will started, rubbing at his sore wrists._

_Caitlin nodded eagerly. _

_"And..it attacked me?" finished Will dully._

_Caitlin stared down at the plant, which continued to sit still. "Quite a strange plant it was..never attacked me in the 2 days I've been holding on to it."_

_Hermione frowned. "Who gave this plant to you, Miss Longbottom?"_

_"My father!" replied Caitlin cheerily. "He really likes plants.. he can identify any kind just by looking at it.."_

_Hermione smiled fondly at the thought. "Bless his heart.." _

_After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she cleared her throat. "McGonagal(OC: Did I spell that right? o.o ..I'll fix it later) might want to, er..take a look at this..". She picked up the Alldamen plant and started walking up the stairs, stopping only halfway from the top. _

_"..Please don't make me chase you into the Great Hall. If you're still here when I get back.." she started, but was inturrupted by Will._

_"We're going, Mum. ...And thanks.." he added awkwardly. He watched Hermione stomp up the stairs before turning to Caitlin, offering his arm. _

_"You look really nice tonight.." _

_Caitlin smiled up at him, taking his elbow. "You look like a Grime-Mucking Miffling in Spring.." _

_Will grinned, and lead her towards the Great Hall; as they passed through the large double doors, they laughed, knowing they were the only two people there who knew what Caitlin ment. To Will, knowing that made waiting hours in his own pool of sweat and getting nearly-strangled by a dwarfy plant absolutely worth it._

**Yule Ball, 8:15 P.M.**

_Harry Potter watched everyone on the dance floor from his table, which was convieniently placed right next to the buffet table (Cause he moved it there, of course). He watched Professor Doboi make his rounds, separating couples who were dancing too close together; and he watched as they returned to their state of 'oneness' once the crabby ol' professor hobbled off to pull apart others. And it was there he sat in peace (except when hungry dancers wandered over to sample some foods, some of which he managed to scare away with a scowl, others returning the look with one that rivaled his own) for about 30 minutes, when a group of girls wandered over to his table. _

_"Hey Harry, wanna dance?" one of them asked meekly. Harry glanced up from his half-eaten Yule log to find the girl batting her lashes at him._

_"Not right now. I'll save one for you later.." he mumbled._

_The girl pouted._

_"A lot later!" he said a little louder. "Now if you don't mind.."_

_"HARRY!" _

_He looked over, spotting Germione trying to squeeze inbetween the girls. The group of girls sighed before disbanding, leaving Germione there to struggle with herself. _

_"Hiya Germy! About time I see you..I thought I lost you.." said Harry with slight concern._

_Germione's clear eyes narrowed. "Thought? ..THOUGHT? Harry, I told you to wait and you took off running." _

_"I didn't hear you.." mumbled Harry, licking frosting from his fingers. _

_"You turned around, mouthed the words 'Bye Germy', waved, and went around the corner.." said Germione through clentched teeth. She plopped down onto the seat next to Harry, crossing her arms. _

_"Cake?" Harry slid his plate towards her before leaning back into his seat. "The decorations look pretty amazing, don't they..?" He ran his hand over the tablecloth, which was charmed to look and feel like snow. Germione snorted, glancing up at the charmed ceiling; a light snow was falling over the great hall, vanishing completely before it ever hit the ground._

_"They're alright.." she offered with a shrug. _

_Will stumbled over to the table, looking slightly put-off. _

_"'ey Will! How's your magical evening going so far?" said Harry, grinning up at his best friend. _

_Will frowned down at him. "Not so..magical.." He plopped down onto a seat, placed an elbow on the table and proped his chin up. _

_Harry's grin didn't falter. "Solikewhat..She wouldn't dance with you or something? No big deal, mate.. there's lots of pathetic girls to dance with who'd say yes to anyone.."_

_Germione glared at Harry._

_"No it's not that.." murmured Will into his hand. "I won't dance with her.." _

_Harry's face fell. "Wha-wh..Well, why not!"_

_"I..I just don't feel like dancing right now!" spat Will, whirling away from the table to face the oposite direction. _

_Germy whispered to Harry, "William can't dance."_

_Unfortunately, what is concidered whispering to one, isn't to everybody else. _

_People from neighboring tables turned from their own conversations to look at Will, who immediately turned red._

_"I can dance! I can!" he rose to his feet. _

_"Oh, for merlin sake, please please PLEASE don't..." said Germy, standing as well. "Remember when mum and dad had to send you to St. Mungo's cause you got your head stuck in a sock?" _

_"That was from dancing?" asked Harry, awed._

_"No.." Germy said sweetly, grinning at Harry. "I just like to bring it up every once in a while.." _

_"Wow, William.. for such a boy genious, you sure are daft sometimes.." Harry laughed, gartering some laughter from Germione as well._

_Will turned away from them, seething. He was pissed off, he didn't need this from them. From anybody. _

_"I'm..just going to turn in now. Find Caitlin for me? Tell her I'm sorry.." mumbled Will. _

_Germione's laughter faded. "..Actually, you can tell her yourself.. she's over there.." She pointed towards the dance floor and William followed her finger with his eyes, nearly choking at the sight._

_"No..way.." he muttered._

_"She's asking for it.." added Germione with a touch of venom. _

_"Ooooh snap. That boy gettin' all up on yo' woman, yo!" Harry offered. Both Germione and Will looked at him._

_"..It's those American flicks. ..I love them." coughed Harry._

_Will and Germione turned away from him, looking towards the floor again. _

_"WHY IS SHE DANCING WITH MY MAN!" Germione shrieked, causing Harry to clap a hand over her mouth. _

_"Shh! We're not supposed to be here, remember?" hissed Harry, slowly lowering his hand. "Next time, we might get caught, so be quiet.." _

_"I think it's a little too late for that, young man.." said Hermione, looming over Germione and Harry. _

_Germione slowly turned around, forcing a smile. "Hi mum.." _

_"Hi Aunt Hermio-I mean Mrs. Weasl-I mean Mrs. Granger Weasle-I mean Professor!" said Harry, grinning from ear to ear. "Nice robes! Where'd you get them? They really complement your eyes. Very lovely, ma'am!"_

_"Harry." said Hermione dully._

_"Yes Professor?"_

_"..To bed with you."_

_"But I just-"_

_"NOW!" Hermione bellowed._

_Harry snatched up a plate and started to leave, but Hermione made a disproving noise._

_"Leave the cake Harry." _

_Harry thrust the cake into Germione's hands and rushed from the Great Hall, followed by a small group of angered girls yelling after him about a promised dance. _

* * *

Note: The Alldamen thing is a small joke. ...If you read the full 'word' slowly, you'll get it. xD


	7. Chapter 7

All Original HP characters belong to JK Rowling._

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__"..Leave the cake Harry." _

_Harry thrust the cake into Germione's hands and rushed from the Great Hall, followed by a small group of angered girls yelling after him about a promised dance._

_"As for you, young lady.." Hermione turned to Germy._

_"Er, yes..straight to bed with me! Night mum!" Germione started to run, but was snatched up by her ear._

_"Not so fast. Someones here to see you.." said Hermione. And with that, she dragged poor, flailing Germione from the Great Hall by the earlobe. _

_Will smirked at the sight, before turning to look at Fredrick and Caitlin again. _

_"Quite sad, isn't it..?" murmured a voice from next to Will. He turned to find the one person he'd least expect._

_Will frowned. "Come to mock me..?" _

_"Au Contrair, Weasley..I've come to support you.." offered Ali quietly. Her indigo eyes twinkled brightly. _

_"You speak French, Zabini? Impressive.." mumbled Will._

_Ali's brows furrowed in confusion. "French? Is that what that was?"_

_Will's face fell. 'Figures..' he thought._

_"It's kind've cute, actually.." said Ali, smiling a bit at the sight of Caitlin laughing into Cedric's shoulder. "Poor girl thinks she has a chance." _

_"..What do you mean?" asked Will._

_"Uh, hello? I've had dibbs on Fredrick since..well..forever. Why do you think he doesn't have a girlfriend?" _

_Will frowned. "Cause..he doesn't want to hurt feelings?"_

_Ali stared at him for a long while, causing Will to figet under her gaze. _

_"..That's cute. ..But no. It's cause all the girls know if they even so much as look at him that way, they're DEAD." _

_Will's eyes widened at Ali's change in tone from eerily kindly to flat out serial-killer bitch. _

_"..I'm kidding. Like, a joke or whatever you people call it.." mumbled Ali, waving her hand. "I'm not the jealous type.." _

_"Yeah? What about that time in the prefects bathroom with you and my sister?" offered Will, clearly doubtful._

_"Hm? Oh that?" Ali laughed, waving a hand once more. "That was a long time ago. This is the new me. I'm here to help you out.."_

_"Oh yeah..?" mumbled Will, even more doubtful._

_"Mmhm. I can talk to Caitlin for you.. by the time school starts up again after break, you'll be the only one she ever talks about.." _

_"Oh yeah?" repeated Will, though much less doubtful. _

_"Yeah, but.. you'd have to do something for me.." Ali said, glancing over at Will unsurely. _

_"Oh..yeah.." _

_Ali turned to face Will completely, staring directly into his eyes. "Get your sister to forget about Diggory. That's all. She's my only..er..."_

_"Competition?" offered Will, smirking slightly._

_Ali's face contorted into a look of horror. "Oh, gods no! She's just.. ...Just do it, okay? Pl-..l-l-..puh-lea.."_

_Will watched Ali struggle with the word, quite amused by the display. "Please?"_

_Ali smirked. "Just do it!" _

_Will sighed, once again looking towards Fredrick and Caitlin. Professor Doboi was currently forcing his walking stick between them, bellowing that they should dance at fingertip length. And they did, much to Will's relief, laughing about it once the old man hobbled away from them. _

_Will came to a conclusion soon after that._

_"..I'll see what I can do.." _

**HERMIONE GRANGERS OFFICE**

_"Faaather! What a plesant surprise!" dragged Germione, rushing over to hug her father. Ron patted her head gingerly. _

_"You say so now, but your mother summoned me to speak to you.." he replied sullenly._

_"Hm? Why? I already told you what I wanted for Christmas. Did you forget already? Oh..my..god, It's not that hard, Dad.." started Germione._

_"Your mother told me you've been lacking in the grade department, Germy.." _

_Hermione snorted. "Lacking? Hardly possible to lack in something if It was never there to begin with. Don't you agree, Ronald?" _

_"Excuse me, Hermione, but must we discuss this AGAIN! Infront of her! Goodness sakes, I TOLD you it was because I'm under alot of stress!" hissed Ron, covering Germione's ears with his hands._

_"I wasn't talking about THAT, Ronald! Why does it always have to be about you? You always do that!" _

_"I do not! I made a mistake, okay? Gosh!.." _

_Germione cleared her throat. Ron lowered his hands, sighing. _

_"Your mother and I-...well, your Mother agreed that..you shouldn't go to Hogsmede tomorrow.." mumbled Ron under his breath. _

_"WHAT! OMGWTFWHY!" shrieked Germione. _

_Before Hermione could answer, an owl swooped in from an open window, landing neatly ontop of an unopened ink jar. It hooted once before sticking it's leg out to Ron, who untied the piece of parchment from it's leg, allowing it to fly off once more. _

_"Hm..it's from the Ministry.." muttered Ron as he unrolled the parchmet, skimming the text boredly with his eyes for a moment._

_"MUM, THAT IS SOOOO UNFAIR!" Germione continued to shriek. _

_Ron stopped reading somewhere in the middle of the parchment, his face suddenly ghost white._

_"What's wrong, Ronald?" asked Hermione, ignoring Germione's protests._

_"..Er..something..down at the Ministry.. gotta..go and check it out.." stuttered Ron, walking towards the door. Hermione leaned to kiss him as he passed, but he just continued to walk, only stopping til his hand was on the door. _

_Ron turned to face them. "..I love you both." he said truthfully, before leaving the room._

_TBC.._


	8. Chapter 8

All Original HP Characters belong to JK, Like it or not. :P**

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**

**December 22nd**

**GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM, 9:02 A.M.**

_"About time we've gone into Hogsmede, don't you think?" said Harry, pulling a knit cap over his untamed hair. "I can't wait to see your Uncle's new joke shop. Dad told me it was pretty awesome.." _

_Will merely agreed to everything Harry said. He was far too busy trying to figure out what he was going to do about his sister and her infatuation with Fredrick._

_Caitlin Longbottom came down from the girls dorm, looking like she was on cloud 9. "Goodmorning, boys.." she said airly. _

_"Morning!" replied Harry in his most cheery tone. "Ready for Hogsmede?" _

_Caitlin smiled, pulling a piece of parchment from her pocket. "Mmhm! I've got a list of people to go shopping for.. maybe you guys can help me out? See, I wanted to get my father a Snort-Nosed Piegel. I don't suppose you know where I can find one of those?" _

_Harry stared at her blankly. _

_"..Will, do you know?" asked Caitlin, turning to face him. _

_Will glanced up at her. "Er..no. ..Is Germione up yet? We should start heading downstairs.." _

_"Yes, she should be down in a mome-.."_

_The slam of a door inturrupted Caitlin mid-word, followed by a series of footfalls stomping down the staircase. Germione appeared in the commonroom doorway, fuming. _

_"Morning Germione!" chirped Harry and Caitlin in unison._

_"SHUT THE HELL UP! I CAN'T GO! SO SHUT UP!" was their reply as Germione threw on a scarf and hurled herself through the portrait exit, but not before throwing Caitlin the most evil look she could muster up._

_Caitlin sniffed a bit before following after her reluctantly, leaving Harry and Will alone._

_Harry grinned, draping an arm around Will's shoulders. "This is gunna be fun.." _

_Will merely agreed, for he was far to busy trying to figure out what he would do to keep Germione from brutally murdering Caitlin._

**HOGSMEDE VILLAGE, 10:43 A.M.**

_The students scattered into the streets once the teachers gave the word. _

_"We're to meet at this very spot by three!" shouted Hermione at retreating backs. _

_Harry and Will scurried up the snow-covered road, keen on reaching their destination. They aproached a large brick building with a glowing sign at the window, which they stopped to read. _

_Harry laughed. "U-NO-POO! That's a good one.." He stepped forward, pushing the door open. The store was packed with students surveying the merchindise--so packed, Harry and Will found it difficult to even get inside. Something wizzed over Harry's head._

_"Weasley's whizzing wheezies.. I know that sound anywhere.." mumbled Harry. _

_Will glanced over towards the front counter. "..Odd. Uncle Fred and Uncle George aren't here.." _

_Harry started pushing his way towards the counter. "They're probably in the back room.." His eyes caught someone with a freckled nose standing on the counter. _

_"Peorge? What the hel-..eck..are you doing here?" coughed Harry, looking up at the young Weasley. _

_"Unc'a Fred and George told me to watch the store, so I'mma watchin'!" replied Peorge. "They're in the back!" _

_A 3rd year Hufflepuff girl aproached the counter, waving some odd candy at Peorge. _

_"Yes, that'll be 2 knuts please!" _

_"Here's 4, that's all I have." replied the girl, passing Peorge the money._

_Peorge pocketed the money, smiling at the girl. "Gee, thanks! Bye!" _

_Will coughed. "I think she'd like some change, Peorge." _

_Peorge blinked at Will. _

_"..Nevermind. You take care of this, Harry. I have to find Caitlin.." said Will. He turned and pushed his way back to the door, leaving Harry and Peorge at the counter. _

_"You give her two back, Peorge.." said Harry, demonstrating with two fingers. _

_"But why? She gave it to me!" Peorge retorted._

_"AGH, NEVERMIND, KEEP IT!" snapped the girl, before stomping off. _

_Outside, Will walked along the road, peering into windows as he passed by them. Across the way, he spotted a small cafe, and looking through the window he saw Caitlin sitting at a table. Across from her sat Ali Zabini, who snapped her fingers at a passing waiter before pointing down at her cup. He shook his head, before turning away and walking back towards his Uncle's shop._

_"It was so nice of you to invite me to have a drink with you, Ali.." said Caitlin, blinking down at her lap. "I always thought you didn't like me.."_

_Ali snickered. "Really? How silly! What made you think that?" _

_"That one time in Professor Doboi's class. We were doing a group assignment and you turned to McCormack and told him you didn't like me.." _

_"Who told you THAT?" asked Ali, laughing a bit._

_"..I was sitting right next to him. I heard you." Caitlin replied airly. "He was my partner, remember?"_

_"Hm. ..No. But that's in the past. This is now! We're friends now!" said Ali with a smile bright enough to blind the blind. A young man aproached their table, placing a cup infront of Ali._

_"Your cocoa Miss Zabini.. sorry for the mixup.." the man said, twitching slightly. _

_"Nonsence! All is forgotten!" she replied, winking at the man. _

_He blinked, nodded at the two of them, and rushed off to tend to another customer. _

_"Hn..Wait til Daddy hears about this one. That man will be fired for sure.." Ali mumbled into her cocoa._

_Caitlin blinked. "He apologized for what he did. I mean, you did ask for cocoa. He didn't know you wanted it cold.."_

_"What fool serves cocoa hot! I mean, honestly!" retorted Ali, shaking her head slightly. _

_Caitlin smiled, shaking her head as well. "You really are something, Ali Zabini.."_

_Ali's head shot up immediately. "Is that bad?"_

_"Oh, no! It's a good thing! I promise!" said Caitlin, holding a hand up. "It means you're..different. I like that."_

_"Hm. ...Well, then you're REALLY something Caitlin." _

_Both girls laughed for a second, then stopped suddenly. The table sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, until Ali spoke up again._

_"..Ew.." _

_"What? What's wrong?" asked Caitlin._

_"..We like..had a moment.." Ali finished, leaning back in her seat._

_Caitlin frowned. "So? I thought you said we were friends.." _

_"Oh, yeah, of course! ..I just don't have moments like that with people, so like..don't tell anyone.." _

_"Oh. ..Okay." _

_The awkward silence returned, this time lasting only a short moment._

_"Sooo.." started Ali, leaning forward. She propped her chin up with both hands, grinning. "How was dancing with Fredrick yesterday?"_

_Caitlin looked up from her own cup of cocoa, blinking at Ali. "Er..it was alright, I suppose. I felt kind've foolish dancing with him.. I kept stepping on his toes, but he didn't seem to mind it. I didn't really pay attention to the dancing though, we mostly talked.." _

_"About..?" _

_"I don't know..life? He told me he wanted to work with his grandfather at the Ministry after he graduated.." said Caitlin, smiling as she swirled her finger in her cup._

_"Ew.."_

_Caitlin looked up._

_"I,uh..mean..how enlightening.." Ali said quickly, leaning back. "What else did you talk about?"_

_"We talked about Will a bit. He asked me why I wasn't dancing with him.."_

_"Oh, you didn't hear? Will can't dance." blurted Ali._

_"Really? Why didn't he tell me..?" Caitlin frowned._

_"Well, like..Germione told the whole world.. I'm surprised you didn't hear her, cause that girl has a biiiiig mouth.."_

_Caitlin looked down at her hands. _

_Ali sighed. "..You know. I value our conversation, my dear friend. It's a pity the semester ends tomorrow. Will you be going home?"_

_"No, I'm staying behind.." replied Caitlin quietly. _

_"Lovely.. I'm returning home, but I would just DIE if you could come along with me! C'mon, it'd be great! We can talk about whatever you want. Like..Will, or something. Yeah, that sounds like a good topic! What do you say?" blurted Ali in a rush._

_Caitlin shrugged slightly. "I suppose that would be alright. ...Er, you sure you want to spend Winter Break with me?"_

_"I'd love to!" said Ali sweetly, clapping her hands together. _

_A smile returned to Caitlin's face. "Really? Oh! This is great! I'm going to send an owl to my father immediately!" She rose to her feet and skipped merrily from the cafe. _

_Ali waved to her as she passed infront of the window then, once Caitlin was out of sight, leaned back in her chair, smirking._

_"..Piece of cake.."_

_TBC.._


End file.
